‘Saskatoon’ apparel has Walmart shoppers confused

Saskatoon shirts on sale at Walmart are leaving some shoppers doing a double take. Laura Woodward has the story.

Saskatoon-themed shirts and sweaters being sold at Walmart are raising eyebrows.

The apparel features a depiction of the Saskatoon skyline set against a mountain range.

While CTV News could not confirm how the image was created, tech analyst Carmi Levy believes it was made with artificial intelligence.

“I had to laugh because let’s face it, Saskatoon isn’t exactly known as the mountain mecca of the world,” Levy said.

“The image on this T-shirt is certainly something that doesn’t exist in real life and it’s a perfect example of how AI can get things spectacularly wrong — especially when the humans who are using it have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Levy said while AI-generated mistakes have become common online, they’re increasingly making their way into the physical world.

“This happens when quality control takes a day off,” he said.

Leanne Schinkel, director of marketing and communications at Discover Saskatoon, said the tourism organization had a laugh over the design.

“Here’s our pterodactyl-like bird,” Schinkel said, pointing to one of the creatures printed in the sky.

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She said merchandise representing Saskatoon should be created by local artists who know what the city looks like.

“It’s great that a store like Walmart wants to put representations of cities they happen to be in, in their stores. It’s just, you know, let’s be a bit more accurate,” Schinkel told CTV News.

The shirts are manufactured by Gildan. The company told CTV News it supplies the blank apparel only and had no role in creating or printing the design.

CTV News reached out to Walmart to ask how the design ended up on store shelves but did not receive a response by deadline.